Origins of Surya Namaskar

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Origins of Surya Namaskar

Authors:
Dr. Sivatej Sarva, Shri Ram Prasad Kraleti, Dr. Siddhesh Shevade, Shri Sudhakar Joglekar*.

*Bhau Joglekar ji is an expert in Surya Namaskar and heads the Surya Namaskar division of

Kreeda Bharathi.

Abstract:
Surya Namaskar is a popular form of exercise both in India and in the
West. A study of ancient Hindu texts was undertaken to bring to light the various
ancient origins of this procedure. The observations show that this procedure is
derived from the Vedas, the oldest texts of Hindu literature. Trucha Kalpa Nitya
Vidhi and Aditya Prasna are the popular ancient Vedic forms of performing
salutations to the Sun. The Puranas, which were written after the Vedas, also
have procedures of sun salutations described in them. “Aditya Hrudayam” which
is mentioned in Ramayana, explains sun salutation with mantras that are similar
to the present day Surya Namaskar. In addition to the philosophy, structure of
the procedure and mantras of Surya Namaskara, the physical postures
themselves have old origins. As a result it can be concluded that Surya Namaskar
is a procedure with sound ancient roots and has evolved into a popular form of
physical exercise today.

Table of Contents:

1) Introduction
2) Vedic origins
a. Trucha Kalpa Namaskarah
1) Sankalp
2) dhyāna mantra
3) sūrya namaskār mantra
4) Teertha Shloka
b. Aditya Prasna
3) Pauranic origins
4) Old English publications
5) Exercise and Spirituality
6) Raja of Aundh
7) Conclusion
8) Glossary

1) Anushtup Chandas
2) Word by word translation of dhyāna Mantra
3) Sanskrit verses of the ruchas
4) Transliteration of the three ruchas
5) Translation of the three ruchas

9) References

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1) Introduction:
Surya Namaskar is a popular form of Yoga practiced not only in India but also in
the yoga studios of the West. Unlike its benifits to health which are well
documented (1), the origins are not widely known.

According to the Oxford English Dictionary, the definition of "origin", is "the

point where something begins or arises" (2). If the definition is applied to surya
namaskar, definite proof of existence of surya namaskar (salutation to the sun),
for health and prosperity, through worship of Sun, by employing one's body limbs
can be observed in ancient Hindu practices. The name that it was refered to and
the actual procedure that was performed varied but the central concept remained
the same.

2) Vedic origins:
There are numerous references of praising the Sun for the purpose of good health
and prosperity, in Vedas. Some of these Vedic hymns were incorporated into
Nitya Vidhi (Daily mandatory routine for a Hindu) for the well being of an
individual, through salutations to the Sun. These daily procedures were termed as
Surya Namaskara (literally translates as "sun salutations"). Physical prostration
to Sun, showing complete surrender of oneself to God, is the main aspect of these
procedures. The forms of Surya Namaskar practiced vary from region to region.
Two such popular practices are Trucha Kapla Namaskarah and Aditya Prasna.

* a) Trucha Kalpa Namaskarah (3):

Each Mantra in Veda is called a “rucha”. Group of three rucha is called as Trucha.
“Trucha Kalpa Namaskarah” is one method of performing Surya Namaskars.

1) Sankalp:

You make a resolution[Sankalp] in the beginning, that you are doing this act of
performing ‘sūrya namaskār’ by praying to the Sun, requesting him to give you
good health and strength to work hard.

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2) dhyāna mantra:

Then dhyāna mantra is recited / chanted.

Verse:

dhyeyḥ sadā savitṛmaṁḍalamadhyavartī

nārāyaṇaḥ sarasijāsanasaṁniviṣṭaḥ |

keyūravān makarakuṁḍalavān kirīṭī

hārīhirṇmayavapurdhṛtaśaṁkhacakraḥ ||

Meaning:

“Always worship ‘The Sun’ (our energy source) sitting at the centre of his
galaxy on Lotus, wearing Keyoor, Makarkundal crown and holding conch,
chakra and having glittering golden body.”

3) sūrya namaskār mantra

After dhyāna mantra, Surya Namaskars are performed by chanting mantras.

Mantras are arranged in a specific way. They consist of the three ruchas taken
from 1st Mandala, 9th anuvak 50th Sookta in Rig Veda, which are composed in
‘Anushtup Chandas’. Kanva Sage [Rushi] has composed them. According to him
by reciting / chanting these three ruchas and performing Surya Namaskars, The
Sun is pleased with you and cures many of your diseases like heart trouble,
leprosy, leukemia, jaundice etc.

Meaning of the three ruchas:

“O, radiant Sun rising in the sky, please destroy the disease in my heart as
well as diseases of my external body. Let inner and outer diseases of my
body be destroyed by brilliantly shining Sun-the son of Aditi.”

Nama mantra of the Surya Namaskar have four sections:

1) Pranavakshar (Aum)

2) Beejakshara (hrāṁ, hrīṁ, hrūṁ, hraiṁ, hrāuṁ and hraḥ)

3) paada from the three ruchas described above

4) Name of ‘The Sun’.

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In total 6 beejakshara, 12 paada (4 paada for each of the 3 ruchas) and 12 names
of Surya are used in the creation of nama mantras. The six beejaksharas in the
order of their usage are, hrīṁ, hrūṁ, hraiṁ, hrāuṁ and hraḥ. The 12 paada are
explained in detail in the glossary. The 12 names of ‘The Sun’ in the order of their
usage are “Mitra, Ravi, Surya, Bhanu, Khaga, Pushan, Hiranyagarbha,
Marichiman, Aditya, Savitr, Arka, Bhaskara”.

The mantra, start with short arrangements of the words at the beginning of the
worship and evolve into more complex structures near the end. The mantra for
the ease of discussion can be classified into four steps.

Step 1:

"Aum + 1 Beejaksharam + 1 rucha + 1 Beejaksharam + Aum + 1 Name of

Sun"

Example Mantra:

"Aum hrāṁ udhyannadhya mitramaḥ hrāṁ Aum mitrāya namaḥ ||" (1).

"Aum hrīṁ ārohannuttarāṁ divam hrīṁ Aum ravaye namaḥ ||" (2).

12 mantra, formed using the 12 paada of the ruchas, are chanted / recited at this
step. As there are only 6 beejakshara, for the seventh mantra the first beejakshara
is used and the order is repeated upto the 12th mantra. For each mantra one
surya namaskar is performed.

Step 2:

"Aum + 2 Beejakshara + 2 paada + 2 Beejakshara + Aum + 2 Names of

Sun".

Example Mantra:

"Aum hrāṁ hrīṁ udhyannadhya mitramaḥ ārohannuttarāṁ divam hrāṁ

hrīṁ Aum mitrāya ravaye namaḥ || ".

6 mantras are chanted / recited at this step as there are 12 paadas. For each
mantra one surya namaskar is performed.

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Step 3:

"Aum + 4 Beejakshara + 4 paada + 4 Beejakshara + Aum + 4 Names of

Sun".

3 mantras are chanted / recited at this stage. For each mantra one surya
namaskar is performed.

Step 4:

"Aum + All Beejakshara + All paadas + All Beejakshara + Aum + All

Names of Sun".

1 mantra is chanted / recited at this step. One Surya Namaskar is performed at

this step.

Thus after all the four steps, 22 mantras are chanted / recited and with each
mantra one Surya Namaskar is performed. When this cycle is repeated three
times, 66 Surya Namaskars are performed. This way ONE Trucha Kalpa
Namaskar is completed.

4) Teertha Shloka

In the end,Teertha Shloka is chanted / recited.

Verse:

ādityasya namaskaraṁ ye kurvanti dinedine |

janmāṁtarasahasreṣu daridhryaṁ nopajāyate ||

akālamṛtyuharaṇam sarvavyādhivinaśanam |

sūryapādodakaṁ tīrtham jaṭharedhārayāmyaham ||

Meaning:

“Those who perform Surya Namaskars daily, do not face poverty in life
[this actually relates to Richness of Health, not financial matters], one
does not face early death or suffer from diseases. Drink the water kept
before The Sun".

* b) Aditya Prasna )(4):

The verses used in this procedure are taken from the first chapter of "Yajur Veda,
Taittiriya Aranyakam" which is also refered to as Surya Namaskar chapter. It is

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popularly practiced in South India. There are 132 anuvaks in this chapter and it is
a practice to perform sun salutations with prostrations after recitation of every
anuvak.

3) Pauranic origins )(5):

Aditya Hridayam is another ancient practice which involves surya namaskar. It is
a procedure of saluting The Sun, taught to Sri Rama by Sage Agastya, before his
fight with Ravana. It is described in the "Yuddha Khanda" Canto 107 of
Ramayana.

There are in total 124 names praising the Sun in the whole procedure. The names
in verses 10 - 13 are given below:

" Aditya, Savita, Surya, Khaga, Pushan, Gabhastiman,

Suvarnasadrisa, Bhanu, Hiranyaretas, Divakara, Haridasva,
Sahasrarchish, Saptasapti, Marichiman, Timironmathana, Sambhu,
Twashta, Martanda, Ansuman, Hiranyagarbha, Sisira, Tapana,
Bhaskara, Ravi, Agnigarbha, Aditiputra, Sankha, Sisiranasana ".

As can be noted by the names in bold, most of the names used in the present day
popular Surya Namaskar are present in these four verses.

In 15 - 20 verses, salutations to Sun are described. An example from the 15th

verse is:

"the resplendent among the splendid. Oh! God, appearing in twelve forms
(in the shape of twelve months of the year) salutations to you".

4) Old English Publications:

The existence of procedures of sun salutations for health in ancient India are not
confined to Hindu texts and literature written by Hindu scholars. Early English
publications record some of the ancient ways of sun salutation. In "A Catalogue
raisonnée of oriental manuscripts" (Year: 1860, Page 246) Rev. William Cooke
Taylor, noted that a short book with 71 leaves with "Tricha calpa vidhi" from
"Aditya Puranam" was preserved. He describes the vidhi as "Modes of rendering
homage to Sun, with praise and spells; the object being health or delivery from
disease". He further notes the presence of Arghya Pradana, Surya Stotaram,
Aditya dvadasa namam - 12 names of the Sun according to the monthly signs of
zodiac, Surya Narayana cavacham, Saurashtacshari mantram, and many other
elaborate rituals as the part of the vidhi. In Page 148 of the same book he
describes a shorter version called "Laghu tricha kalpa vidhi" (6).

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5) Exercise and Spirituality:

Leaving the main focus of Surya Namaskar, i.e., surrendering yourself to
Surya(God) for health and prosperity, if we look at physical aasanas of the
present popular way of doing Surya Namaskar, we can find that even these have
much older origins than popularly believed.

There are about 50 different variations of Surya Namaskar followed in various

parts of India today. It is highly unlikely that a very modern procedure of the
nineteenth century can spread and evolve into such diverse forms in such a short
period of time. Moreover, most of the aasanas themselves have ancient
documented origins.

"Sashtang dandavat" which is the central aasana of the surya namaskar was
followed from time immemorial in India as a form of showing respect and
complete surrender to God. "Bhujangasana" was described as one of the 32
important aasanas in "Gheranda Samhita" (dated around 1802 A.D.) which
describes the yoga prevalent in north-east India (7). The "Adhomukh Swanasan"
was described in the old wrestling text of "Mallapurana" (dated before 1750) (8).
"Sarpasana" (Bhujangasana), "Gajasana" (Adhomukh Swannasan), "Uttanasana"
and series of postures done in tandem, similar to surya namaskar are all
described in Sritattvanidhi which was written by the order of Krishnaraja
Wodeyar III (1799-1868) to capture the Hindu knowledge of his time (8).

The use of surya namaskar for physical exercise is also not modern. Bhagavat
Simhaji on Page 61 in the book "A Short History of Aryan medical science"
published in 1896 says "There are various kinds of physical exercise indoors and
outdoors. But some of the Hindoos set aside a portion of their daily worship for
making salutations to the Sun by prostrations. This method of adoration affords
them so much muscular activity that it takes to some extent the place of physical
exercise" (9).

Further historically it is widely believed in the state of Maharashtra that Shivaji

Maharaj, Samartha Ramadas ji and the Marathas have preformed surya
namaskar as a physical exercise to develop able bodies (10). This is not surprising
since vyayama (Physicial exercise in Sanskrit) traditionally has been influenced
by spirituality. Many physical practices have ingrained spiritual values in them.
In addition spiritual training is considered as a part of physical training from
ancient times in India.

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6) Raja of Aundh:
Shrimant Bhavanrao Pant Pratinidhi (1868-1951; Raja of Aundh 1909-1947)(11)
occupys an important position in the history of surya namaskar. He helped in
popularizing surya namaskar as a simple physical exercise for all round
development of an individual at a time when the whole of the Indian civilization
was reeling under British rule. He introduced it in schools as a form of education
and encouraged even the ordinary man to be physically fit by performing surya
namaskar every day (12). Due to the unavailability of majority of old Hindu
scriptures and literature even today, it is not surprising that some of the Western
scholars have mistakenly characterized Surya Namaskar as a new physical
exercise devised by Raja of Aundh with no ancient roots (13)(14). It has to be
noted that, Raja of Aundh, himself never claimed to have invented it. Further he
actually stressed on the ancient origins of this procedure (12).

7) Conclusion:
In conclusion, when trying to understand the origins of any modern
phenomenon, one has to look for the source of the central ideas and procedures.
Just because there is no word to word guide to the present day popular yogic
form of surya namaskar in the Vedas, does not mean that it did not originate
from them. The ancient literature and more importantly the every day life of
people living in various parts of the diverse country of India, gives ample proof
that the procedure is ancient. To give a present day example, even though Google
popularized "web search", it is not true that Google invented "web search".

The aim of this article is not to prove someone else wrong or propound a new
theory, but is to provide more information to the people interested in this unique
procedure. This article by no means brings out all the ancient origins and is only
a humble attempt to bring to light some of them.

8) Acknowledgements

Dr. Gopal Marathe for his input on Aditya Prasna, Dr. B.V.K.Sastry for his input
on the philosophy behind the Surya Namaskar.

9) Glossary

1) Anushtup Chandas:
Chandas, is considered one of the six limbs of the Vedas. Chandas gives the rules
for composition, thereby ensuring that the original text is kept in tact without the
loss or gain of syllables. Of the various meters of composition, “Anushtup” is the
one which is extensively used not only in Vedic mantras but also in the slokas of
Puraanas. Valmiki Ramayana was written in “Anushtup meter”.

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A Veda mantra is generally a quartet. A paada is a quarter portion of it. (Notable

exception is Gayatri Chandas which has only three paadas). Each paada in turn
can have an equal or unequal number of syllables. Those which have four paadas
to a stanza with each paada having eight syllables are said to be in “Anushtup
Chandas”. For counting the aksharas or syllables only vowels and consonants
with vowels imposed on them should be considered for the count while pure
consonants should be ignored.

Reference: The Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, Mumbai " The Vedas " Chapter 17 : The Vedangas :
Chandas - The feet of the Vedas

2) Word by word translation of dhyana Mantra:

Savitrumandala-Madhyavartee - He who lives in the centre of the solar orb.
Sarasijaasana Sannivishtah - Who sits in Padmaasana
Keyuravaan Makara Kundalavaan Kireetee Haaree - Who has the bracelets, the
big ear-rings in the ear, the crown on the head and the pearl garland dangling on
the breast.
Dhrita-Sankha-Chakrah - Holder of Conch and Chakra (discuss).
Hiranmayavapuh - Golden-hued body.
Narayanah - Narayana
Sadaa Dhyeyah - Always to be meditated.

http://www.hindubooks.org/sandhyavandanam/suryanarayanavandanam/index.htm

3) Sanskrit verses of the ruchas:

Rigveda: 1 Mandala, 50th Sukta.
Reference: http://www.sanskritweb.org/rigveda/rv01.pdf

4) Transliteration of the three ruchas:

udyannadya mitramaha ārohannuttarāṃ divam |

hṛdroghaṃ mamasūrya harimāṇaṃ ca nāśaya ||

śukeṣu me harimāṇaṃ ropaṇākāsu dadhmasi |

atho hāridraveṣu me harimāṇaṃ ni dadhmasi ||

udaghādayamādityo viśvena sahasā saha |

dviṣantaṃ mahyaṃ randhayan mo aham dviṣate radham ||

Reference: http://www.sanskritweb.org/rigveda/rv01.pdf

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5) Translation of the three ruchas:

Book – 1, HYMN L.

11 Rising this day, O rich in friends, ascending to the loftier heaven,

Surya remove my heart's disease, take from me this my yellow hue.
12 To parrots and to starlings let us give away my yellowness,
Or this my yellowness let us transfer to Haritala trees.
13 With all his conquering vigour this Aditya hath gone up on high,
Giving my foe into mine hand: let me not be my foeman's prey.

Reference: http://www.sacred-texts.com/hin/rigveda/rv01050.htm

10) References:
1) Energy Cost and Cardiorespiratory Changes During the Practice of Surya Namaskar, B. SINHA
etal Indian Journal of Physiology and Pharmacology 2004; 48 (2) : 184–190

2) Compact Oxford English Dictionary of Current English Third Edition, year 2005

3) Rugvediya Nitya Vidhi, Bharatiya Sanskruti Kosh, Vedashastrottejak Sabha, Pune.

4) Taittiriya Aranyaka, Edited by Subramania Sarma, Chennai

5) sanskrit.safire.com, Aditya Hrudayam with English translation

6) William Cooke Taylor, A Catalogue raisonnée of oriental manuscripts, H.Smith, (year 1860)

7) Gheranda Samhita with English translation by James Malinson, yogavidya.com (year 2004)

8) N.E.Josman, Yoga tradition in Mysore Palace, Abhinav publications (year 1999)

9) Bhagavat Simhajī, A Short history of Aryan medical science, Macmillan (year 1896)

10) Dattatraya Chintaman Mujumdar; Encyclopedia of Indian physical culture, Good

Companions; (year 1950)

11) S.P.Sen, Dictionary of National Biography; Institute of Historical Studies, Calcutta 1972
Vols.1-4; Institute of Historical Studies, vol 3, p.307

12) Royal India: A Descriptive and Historical Study of India's Principal States and Their Rulers By
Katherine H. Diver, Maud Diver, (year 1942)

13) Joseph S. Alter, Yoga in Modern India: the body between science and philosophy, Princeton
University Press (year 2004)

14) Joseph S. Alter, Gandhi's Body: Sex, Diet, and the Politics of Nationalism, (year 2000)

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